Hilary Giorgi

Soundbites, Podcasts, and a Clubhouse Clone: Facebook Goes Vocal

Been surprised by no response from Facebook to Clubhouse’s breakthrough? Today it happened. Not satisfied with just making “its own Clubhouse, with Blackjack room and ads”, Facebook announces more audio-focused products that will make it much more listenable.

The most expected clone of Clubhouse is similar to Rooms feature already present on Facebook, with video chats replaced with audio, so the cam will not be involved. Instead of a standalone app, audio rooms will be integrated into both Facebook and Messenger apps, as well as the web version.

Another announced audio tool by Facebook is Soundbites, an audio-only version of TikTok – that is, a service for posting and sharing short audio stories. This has brighter perspectives than it seems; at least, these soundbites will be easy to share as voice messages, so it has all the potential to go viral.

Finally, Facebook launches its own tool for podcast fans. Now podcasts will be easier to discover on Facebook and listen to it in one tap. It requires integration with third-party services, for example, with Spotify, and so it be.

All these features will be first tested on a small group of early access users. If everything goes smooth, they will be eventually rolled out for the masses.